The Eastflower Immortal’s Disciple

Lu Dongbin’s voice boomed throughout the main hall of the Skylight Palace without the slightest concealment. In that instant, the nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals and the many Wanxiang Adepts present were all astonished.

“The Eastflower Immortal wants to accept that little girl from the Black-White College?”

“Why would Lu Dongbin accept such a small disciple?”

“Lu Dongbin’s standards are impossibly high. Even when we wanted to become his disciple, he ignored us completely! But today…”

Quite a few of the Celestial Immortals present were jealous. To be accepted as a disciple by a Daofather required enormous luck; they couldn’t even dream of it. Thus, they typically settled for becoming disciples of True Immortals or Empyrean Gods.

And Lu Dongbin was among the very top of True Immortals and Empyrean Gods. His background was immense, and he was skilled at teaching disciples! What was more, Lu Dongbin was a man of passion and temperament. Once he chose you as a disciple, he would devote himself fully to you. By contrast, some other True Immortals and Empyrean Gods were wholeheartedly focused on ‘cultivating the Dao’ and didn’t really care about their disciples.

“Lu Dongbin?”

“That legendary Lu Dongbin?” The many Wanxiang Adepts—figures like Jiusi Realperson, Cangwu Jiujun, Xiang Tianxiao, and Shaoyan Xuan—all turned red-eyed with jealousy.

These were people who had fought their way into the top ninety-six, and some had even made it into the top twelve or top six!

Lu Dongbin’s name was well-known even to common mortals. In many legends—those of Houyi, Kuafu, the Eight Immortals of the Upper Cave, and so forth—there were too many tales to count. Lu Dongbin was the leader of the Eight Immortals of the Upper Cave!

Despite their envy and jealousy, the Celestial Immortals present clearly understood that this was simply Lu Dongbin’s nature.

“Are you willing?” Lu Dongbin asked once more.

Yu Wei stood frozen, somewhat stunned by this sudden, unexpected joy. Of course she was willing! To become a disciple of Lu Dongbin—who wouldn’t be willing? This was likely second only to becoming a disciple of a Daofather.

But she and Ji Ning had only just formally become Dao-companions. Were they going to be separated so soon?

Yu Wei turned her head to look at Ji Ning in the distance.

Ji Ning understood Yu Wei’s thoughts. Although he felt reluctant, he also knew that Yu Wei was single-minded in her pursuit of the Dao. He gave a slight nod.

“Don’t be reluctant to part with your little lover,” Lu Dongbin said, seeing Yu Wei turn to look at Ji Ning. “Your little lover is absolutely going to become a disciple of a True Immortal or Empyrean God. He will surely be taken by his master for a period of personal tutelage. So even if you don’t become my disciple, Ji Ning will still have to leave the Grand Xia world soon enough.”

Yu Wei understood. She looked at Ji Ning in the distance. Ji Ning kept signaling to her with his eyes while nodding repeatedly.

“May I ask… how long will it be?” Yu Wei asked nervously.

“At least several decades, at most a hundred years,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh. “You don’t need to worry. Once I learn that Ji Ning has returned to the Grand Xia world, I’ll release you very quickly so you can reunite with your little lover.”

Yu Wei asked eagerly, “Could you also accept Ji Ning as a disciple, Senior?” She knew that Lu Dongbin was a peerless Sword Immortal and would be an excellent fit to teach Ji Ning.

“I’d like to,” Lu Dongbin said, shaking his head with a sigh. “Unfortunately, your Grand Xia Emperor absolutely refuses.” As he spoke, he glanced at the Xia Emperor.

The Xia Emperor sat off to the side, simply smiling, not saying a word.

Clearly… there was no room for negotiation!

Yu Wei nodded. She hesitated no longer and directly knelt, saying respectfully, “Disciple pays respects to Master.”

“Hahaha…” Lu Dongbin laughed heartily. “Excellent, excellent, excellent! To be able to accept a fine disciple like you makes coming to this Immortal Fortunes Assembly well worth it. Yu Wei, go spend a little more time with your little lover. Once this Immortal Fortunes Assembly is over, we will be leaving the Grand Xia world.”

“Yes, Master.” Yu Wei immediately returned to Ji Ning’s side.

“Yu Wei, congratulations,” Yuchi Xiyue said, happy for Yu Wei. That her cousin’s Dao-companion could become a disciple of Lu Dongbin was truly wonderful news.

“Ji Ning. Once this Immortal Fortunes Assembly is over and all the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods leave, my master will take me away from the Grand Xia world as well,” Yu Wei said, her eyes filled with reluctance.

Ji Ning gently took her hand. “We are both single-minded in our pursuit of the Dao. Encounters like this are exceptionally rare. How could we let them slip by? Besides, I will also become a disciple of a True Immortal or Empyrean God. I will then have to follow my master for a long period of study as well. I will be leaving the Grand Xia world too.”

Although he couldn’t become a disciple of a Daofather…

Becoming a disciple of a True Immortal or Empyrean God would still give him a backing. He would also learn more about the general situation of the Three Realms! Ji Ning had already decided that he would follow a True Immortal or Empyrean God for a period of intensive study.

Yu Wei nodded. “My master said he’ll take me away for at least several decades, at most a hundred years. Once you return to the Grand Xia world, Ji Ning, as soon as my master knows, he’ll release me quickly.”

“Let’s both work hard,” Ji Ning said softly. “We have to both overcome the tribulations and become Celestial Immortals. We’ll enjoy eternal life together.”

“Eternal life together.” Yu Wei nodded, her eyes turning a little red.

What a beautiful thing it was, to live forever with the one you loved.

“But can I really live forever with Ji Ning?” Thinking back to her past life, Yu Wei felt a wave of fear in her heart. “No matter what, I would rather my soul be scattered to the winds than harm Ji Ning in the slightest. At least until I die… everything will be beautiful.”

It was one of the countless trillion minor worlds in the Three Realms.

This was a beautiful world filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. The folk were simple and honest. Although it was divided into three warring kingdoms, the conflict was mostly a war of words. Occasionally, Immortal cultivators would hold competitions to decide the interests of their respective nations; large-scale true wars were very rare.

“Hua!”

Space was torn open directly.

The white-robed Xia Emperor emerged from the void, arriving in this minor world. He soon came to a mountain, on which stood a Daoist temple named ‘Evergreen Temple’. This Evergreen Temple was utterly ordinary and had little renown in this minor world. Only a few towns around the temple knew of its existence.

The people of this minor world had no idea that the ‘Evergreen Temple’ housed a truly supreme, peerless Sword Immortal.

“Junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, you live here in this dilapidated temple with just a few young Daoists, cultivating the Dao?” The white-robed Xia Emperor arrived at the back of the temple. Behind the temple were a few plots of farmland. A young man was watering the vegetables.

“You have to manage your own major world. I have no attachments; why should I trouble myself?” the young man said calmly.

“What about your disciples?” The white-robed Xia Emperor shook his head. “Since you’re at this temple, why not keep your disciples by your side and teach them well?”

“The master leads the disciple to the door; cultivation is a personal matter. I guided them for ten years. I’ve taught them all I should. That is enough. As for how far they can cultivate, or whether they can become Celestial Immortals… I can’t help them with that.” The young man casually sat down on the ground, picked up a gourd ladle, scooped water from the bucket, took a drink, and smacked his lips in satisfaction. “The water is really sweet.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor was helpless.

Those who could become True Immortals or Empyrean Gods were all top-tier experts of the Three Realms. Even the Celestial Thearch had to treat them with great courtesy. Each had their own temperament. He couldn’t persuade this junior apprentice-brother.

“I’ve come this time on the orders of our master,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Master?” The young man immediately became serious.

The white-robed Xia Emperor nodded. “You know that thirty-plus years ago, the Six Paths of Reincarnation was attacked and collapsed… Right now, there is an undercurrent surging through the Three Realms. A great upheaval is likely unavoidable. And the more turbulent and chaotic the times, the easier it is for heroes to be born in the Three Realms.”

The young man nodded.

“My Grand Xia world is at the peak of its prosperity,” the white-robed Xia Emperor continued. “At this Immortal Fortunes Assembly, even our master chose a disciple from among the top three, a cultivator named Mu Northson. Additionally, there was a disciple of the Black Tortoise Grand Emperor at this Immortal Fortunes Assembly as well.”

“Oh?” The young man was startled. “Two Daofather disciples from a single Immortal Fortunes Assembly?”

“Our master instructed that the top three of this Immortal Fortunes Assembly should all be taken into our Crimsonbright lineage,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said. “Master chose Mu Northson. The other two are Blackstone Realperson and Ji Ning. Ji Ning is a born Sword Immortal. He has only been training for a little over thirty years. Even Lu Dongbin wanted to accept him as a disciple, but I didn’t allow it. Moreover, the day of his birth was not far from the day the Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed. It’s possible he is someone with great luck.”

“Don’t try to trick me,” the young man said, shaking his head. “Whether Lu Dongbin accepts disciples or not has nothing to do with me. With his temperament, he could even accept a common mortal as a disciple. As for this Ji Ning training for thirty-plus years and being born around the same time as the Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed—that’s even more ridiculous!”

“The reason why upheavals in the Three Realms produce peerless heroes is because during these upheavals, there will be great battles and massacres. Other powerful experts will fall, their aura of luck scattering and gathering upon others…” the young man said. “Every time the Three Realms are in upheaval, old experts fall, and new experts are born. Sometimes, Daofathers die, and new Daofathers appear. In general, the number of experts in the Three Realms is about the same.”

“Whether or not you can become an expert depends on whether you can seize the opportunities presented by the Three Realms’ upheavals!”

“As for one’s birth… you can fool others with that talk.”

The young man was completely unswayed by the Xia Emperor’s words.

The white-robed Xia Emperor could only give an apologetic smile.

Even Daofathers could establish reincarnation! Everyone clearly understood the secrets of reincarnation. A person’s fate wasn’t determined at birth; it depended on future opportunities. No one was born destined to become a Daofather! There was no such thing.

At most, due to blessings from a past life, one might be reborn into a good family.

“And, elder apprentice-brother, I’m not one to criticize you,” the young man said, “but so what if the Three Realms are in upheaval? Accepting or not accepting disciples is utterly insignificant. What matters is oneself!”

“The only thing we can trust and grasp is ourselves!”

“Disciples can betray you. Subordinates can betray you. Even friends can stab you in the back… Only one’s own power is the most fundamental,” the young man said. “To me, the upheaval of the Three Realms is my chance to break through and become a Daofather. As for disciples? Even if a disciple becomes a Daofather, what does that have to do with me!”

The white-robed Xia Emperor said no more. He and the Evergreen Sword Immortal walked very different paths. The Xia Emperor was born into an ancient imperial clan, so his way of thinking was naturally different. He took out a scroll. “Take a look. It contains scenes of Ji Ning’s matches.”

The scroll unfurled.

Images of battles appeared one after another.

“A Sword Immortal?” The young man nodded, then handed a small green sword to the white-robed Xia Emperor. “This kid is indeed exceptionally gifted. Since our master instructed it, I, Evergreen, will accept Ji Ning as my disciple. This is my token. Have someone deliver it to Ji Ning. If Ji Ning is willing to become my disciple, let him crush the token within ten days, and I will go find him. After ten days, the token will automatically dissipate.”

A master might be willing to take on a disciple, but he also had to see if the disciple was willing to enter his tutelage.

Lu Dongbin had to ask Yu Wei if she was willing.

It was the same for the Evergreen Sword Immortal. If Ji Ning was unwilling, then with a Pure Yang True Immortal’s pride, he certainly wouldn’t beg Ji Ning to take him on.

“Alright.” The white-robed Xia Emperor took the small green sword and smiled. “Junior apprentice-brother, I won’t disturb your peaceful days as the master of this temple.”

With these words, he vanished.